Monthly Archives: October 2012

Where a defendant has moved for a stay pending appeal of a court order that requires that all actions be taken reasonably necessary to provide the plaintiff inmate with sex reassignment surgery as promptly as possible, the defendant should be given the opportunity to state its position on the court’s authority to modify the order while the appeal is pending.

Where a plaintiff, which has been using a mark in connection with the offering of financial services in Puerto Rico, contends that the defendant used a confusingly similar mark and a confusingly similar logo containing that mark in connection with its financial business and services in violation the Lanham Act and Puerto Rico trademark law, the plaintiff’s claims are not barred by laches because of the doctrine of progressive encroachment.

Where the defendant seeks review of his conviction on charges of conspiracy and collection of debts by extortionate means, the judgments must be upheld despite the defendant’s arguments that his trial was tainted by the trial judge's rulings relating to allegations of juror taint and by supposed mistakes in the judge's instructions to the jury.

Where the petitioner seeks review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals denying his applications for asylum, statutory withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture, the petition must be denied due to the petitioner’s failure to show an objectively reasonable basis for fear of persecution or any prospect that he will be tortured if returned to Guatemala.

Where the Board of Immigration Appeals ordered the removal of a lawful permanent resident based on the BIA’s finding that he had been convicted of sexual abuse of a minor, the matter must be remanded given the nature of the Connecticut offense to which the resident pleaded nolo contendere.

Where the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed an immigration judge’s order that the petitioner be removed on the ground that he had been convicted of illicit trafficking, which is an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act and an offense under a Connecticut statute relating to a controlled substance, his petition for review must be denied given the nature of the crime.

Where plaintiff labor unions claim that sections of Puerto Rico's campaign finance law place an unconstitutional burden on the unions' First Amendment right to engage in political speech, the unions have demonstrated a strong likelihood that they will succeed on their First Amendment challenge.

A former policeman who claimed the city of Lowell violated a settlement agreement to reimburse him for unpaid vacation time could not sue the city under the Wage Act, the Appellate Division of the District Court has ruled.